High population density survival of the sea urchin Diadema antillarum (Philippi 1845) to a category 5 hurricane in southern Mexican Caribbean
The vulnerability of the sea urchin Diadema antillarum to the impact of the category 5 hurricane "Dean" was assessed at a back-reef area of Mahahual (Southern Mexican Caribbean). Seventy days after Dean, there was a high mean Diadema population density of 12.6 ± 4.3 (SD; from here forward)...
| Autores: | , , |
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| Formato: | artículo |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2008 |
| País: | México |
| Recursos: | El Colegio de la Frontera Sur |
| Repositorio: | Redalyc-ECOSUR |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:redalyc.org:57822408009 |
| Acesso em linha: | https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=57822408009 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palavra-chave: | Biología herbivory Caribbean Sea hurricane Dean coral reef resilience Diadema antillarum urchin |
| Resumo: | The vulnerability of the sea urchin Diadema antillarum to the impact of the category 5 hurricane "Dean" was assessed at a back-reef area of Mahahual (Southern Mexican Caribbean). Seventy days after Dean, there was a high mean Diadema population density of 12.6 ± 4.3 (SD; from here forward) ind m-2, with a large mean individual test diameter of 59.2 ±9.8 mm. This population was comparable to a previous report for the same area, just before the landfall of Dean on 21 August 2007. Immigration of adults from deeper fore-reef sites after Dean across the reef-crest was unlikely, considering the homing behavior displayed by tagged urchins. The degree of physical alteration of the habitat indicated that Diadema may survive higher hurricane-generated disturbances than those reported in previous works. These results have strong implications on the conservation of the Mexican Caribbean coral reefs since the Diadema populations surveyed have a high grazing activity and are persistent against hurricanes impact. |
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